Andrea Wenner, 31

Out2Play Inc., Founder

Photo: Buck Ennis

Where is Andrea now?

Founder, Out2Play Inc.
Updated October 12, 2012
By Lisa Fickenscher

Andrea Wenner gave Wall Street a fair shake when she started her career, working as a broker's assistant for Bank of America right out of Yale University. But she quickly discovered that banking didn't turn her on.

"I wanted to do something where I was making a positive impact on society," says Ms. Wenner, who was inspired by her parents, both of whom are physicians.

Now there are tens of thousands of New York City schoolchildren who are benefiting from her desire to help others.

The Massachusetts native is executive director of Out2Play, a nonprofit that builds playgrounds at city schools. Over the past four years, she has raised $20 million and built 80 playgrounds at elementary schools, mostly in low-income areas.

An avid soccer and tennis player, Ms. Wenner says that watching young children spend their recess in empty lots "was so contrary to my upbringing."

Persuading others to help her fund the project was a daunting task.

"I had no credibility," she recalls.

That is, until she secured her first check for $250,000. Just two days before graduating from Columbia University's MBA program, she met Russell Carson, founder of a private equity firm and chairman of the board of overseers at the business school.

"I'm extraordinarily pleased with my investment," says Mr. Carson.

Since then, elected officials have kicked in funds. And in January, the Department of Education granted Out2Play $12 million to build 70 more playgrounds, which will satisfy the organization's goal of constructing 150 by 2012.

For her next act, Ms. Wenner would "like to do something in urban development" at an existing organization—at least until the entrepreneurial bug takes hold again.